Metadata can be associated with data, such as files, folders, or indexed data, and it may be used to describe the content or the file, for example and/or information about the file itself. Metadata can be created automatically by handler programs and/or manually added by a user. Often, metadata created or captured by a computer may comprise information about when a file was created, who created it, when it was last updated, file size, a file extension, access permissions, discovery processing, and more. Metadata can be stored with the associated data (e.g., attached to the file), or may be stored separately and indexed to the associated file. As an example, a central system that provides synchronization services for a plurality of clients may store metadata for data that is shared between the respective clients. For example, the respective clients may locally store the shared data, and the synchronization service may store at least some of the metadata associated with the shared files.